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Larry's LogThe hook was well planted in a good sandy bottom and we were set. Both Kristali and Mutual Fun stopped by to say hi and let us know that they were going snorkeling again at around 2:30. Since it was about 11:30 (the trip took about an hour), we said great and made lunch and started running the water maker. I anticipated needing a lot of fresh water since we would need to shower after snorkeling and also need to rinse off the snorkel equipment from the salt. This can sometimes be a problem because the water maker (using reverse osmosis) only makes a little less than 6 gallons an hour but uses about 15 to 18 amps (a fair amount of power). With sufficient power, its just a matter of letting it run but typically, the solar panels and wind generator can't supply enough power to make up for the water maker's and other equipment's consumption. But since we would have a very constant wind here, I was hopeful we would be OK. We ran the unit for about 2 hours, and between the bright sunny day for the solar panels and a steady trade wind for the wind generator, we did pretty well. The winds were so steady because there is nothing blocking the breeze. To understand this place, you must know that there is just a series of 4 small islands with a large semicircular reef to windward of them. It is Horseshoe Reef that we were anchored behind, not the islands. There was nothing between Africa and us except this barrier reef. That's what makes this place so special and the snorkeling so great. Anyway, after lunch and turning off the water maker, we got into the dinghy and followed Kristali and Mutual Fun, but we picked up Joe from Legacy since we had just stopped by the say hello. Ruth wanted to stay and finish her book but Joe said he would come along. No problem, so we went off and saw where they went through the pass in reef to the outside. There was a mooring there for dinghies so we all tied to that and started out. It was superb. Unblemished coral and gorgeous fish were abundant. Since this was facing the Atlantic, it was a bit rough and there was some current, but the views were just spectacular. It was tiring though, fighting the current, so after about 45 minutes, we all got back into our dinghies. The others went back to their boats but Joe, Diane and I went to a mooring inside the reef to try the snorkeling there. Again, swimming in gin clear, turquoise water was fantastic. The water was calm and pretty shallow, but the coral formations just as nice, if not as close together as outside. We got to see the fish "up close and personal" this time. We saw a school of Blue Tangs numbering at least 200 individuals. There was a large formation of Elkhorn Coral patrolled by a large French Angelfish. Of course, there were Sergeant Majors, Blueheads, Banded Butterfly Fish and Parrotfish. We must have been in the water for an hour. The only reason we went back to the dinghy was because it was getting late and the light was starting to go and we were starting to "prune up". We would be back. We dropped Joe off and went back to Destiny. We rinsed us and the equipment and then had a dinner of some leftovers and then just savored the evening. The next day we went snorkeling again, naturally, at the outer reef. This time, Mona from Mutual Fun came along, as Bob doesn't like to snorkel in the deeper water outside the reef. The water was a little calmer since the wind was down and it seemed less current also. We went around 11am and the light was perfect. More superb snorkeling; new species this time were a large stingray, a black triggerfish, a Scrawled Filefish and a small lobster, among all the others. After about an hour, we stopped snorkeling, dropped off Mona, went back to Destiny and ate lunch. Diane then decided to get ambitious and started making more bread. I took a dinghy ride around and stopped by Kristali for a bit to chat. Since there was another baci ball competition on the beach again, I left to get Diane. We went to the beach with drinks and snacks for after the strenuous competition. We met some more cruisers in the anchorage, Masade, Black Cat and some others. The party was very nice and we all enjoyed the get together. Unfortunately, nobody noticed that the tide was coming in. Particularly, Diane and I didn't notice that our dinghy was starting to float off the beach! Luckily, some others did see it and ran down before it actually drifted out. Thanks guys. I TOLD Diane I wanted to raise it up onto the beach some more!! Everyone was ready to leave at that point anyway and we all went back to our respective boats. Diane made a very nice dinner of crab cakes and carrots, and we just relaxed for the evening. The weather for tomorrow was either good or bad, depending on who you preferred to believe, David Jones, who runs the Caribbean Weather Net or Eric, who does it on a HAM frequency from Trinidad. There was definitely a tropical wave coming, but they disagreed on when; Eric said Friday, David said Saturday. Both said it wouldn't amount to much. We'll have to wait and see. The morning of the next day was bright and sunny. Joe and Ruth on Legacy were going to Union Island about 6 miles away to get a propane tank refilled, and had offered to take people along for a sail and also to take garbage to throw out. Since there was no place to dispose of garbage on either Mayreau or in the Cays, about 10 boats took advantage of his kind offer. I dropped Diane off at Legacy at around 9:45 with 2 bags of garbage; Joe had about 10 people on board for the ride over. He also had "mounds" of garbage bags. They had to take along another dinghy to put it in. And off they went. I went back to Destiny and started to fill some water bottles from the water maker's output. I like to keep some drinking water in bottles just in case. We always drink the water from the tanks with no problem, but you never know. After that, I changed the line that hangs along the side of the dinghy. It was made of cheap blue polypropylene and was rapidly disintegrating from the sun. Little strands would come off in your hand, so I cut the rest off and used some 5/16-inch Dacron. During this time, you could see clouds coming in off the ocean. Actually, the sky was really spectacular as both high-level Jet Stream cirrus clouds and low-level cumulus clouds rolled across. And the tropical wave came in, as predicted by Eric, although it really wasn't much more than some rain showers, much needed, and some wind gusts to about 25 knots. |